Distal and proximal attentional focus effects on the performance of closed and open continuous motor skills

Download

Date

Author

Metadata

Abstract

Attentional focus research has reliably demonstrated that an external (beyond
the body) focus is superior in terms of skill performance, retention and transfer
relative to an internal conscious focus on movement mechanics. This thesis
extends current knowledge by evaluating the impact of external focus distance
on the performance of continuous skills in an applied context. Specifically, two
external focus points of different distances were compared to an undirected
attention condition. Three separate studies were conducted using different
kayak sprinting disciplines; two of these took place in benign environments
using relatively closed skills whilst the third was carried out in an open skill
context. In all cases a within-participants experimental design was employed
with an independent variable of conscious focus and a dependent variable of
performance time.
In Study 1, using competent, experienced kayakers (n = 20) in a surf ski
sprinting task, the distal external condition significantly outperformed both the
undirected focus and proximal external conditions (p < .001 in both cases). The
undirected focus condition was significantly faster than the proximal external
focus condition (p = .003). The effect size was large (ηp2 = .55). Study 2
examined the same attentional points using youth racers in K1 sprint kayaks (n
= 16). The undirected focus condition was significantly faster than the proximal
external condition (p = .028); the effect size was large (ηp2 = .23). In Study 3
experienced kayakers (n = 27) were tested in a wild water racing task against
the same experimental conditions. The distal external focus condition
significantly surpassed both the proximal external condition and the undirected
focus condition (p < .001 in both cases). The effect size was large (ηp2 = .53).
The studies in this thesis show that the distance of a specified external focus is
important and can have a significant influence on performance. In contrast to
previous work the proximal external focus did not provide a performance
advantage relative to an undirected focus condition; in studies 1 and 2 it was
actually detrimental. A distal external focus was beneficial compared to both
other conditions in two studies and insignificantly different to the undirected
focus trial in Study 2. This thesis brings together work on focus distance and
skill type in three applied and non-contrived sporting contexts. The main
practical implication of this research is that distance of focus should be
considered by learners and coaches with a view to optimising conscious
attention. A distal external focus appears to be particularly useful in targeting
attention on a pertinent point whilst simultaneously excluding cognitive
competition, distractions and unnecessary attentional switching which could
undermine skilled performance.